Tag: immigrants rights

Trump followed through on one of his most odious campaign promises yesterday, signing an Executive Order that restricts Immigration for citizens (including current US visa and Green Card holders – more on this in a second) of seven Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan. While many on the right are claiming this isn’t a Muslim Ban, Trump has directed relevant agencies to prioritize Christian visa applicants and refugees from these countries. These restrictions went into place immediately, revoking visas from refugees and immigrants from these countries who had already been granted visas or had concrete plans to come to the US, stranding people who had been in the air at the time the restrictions went into place in airports, and even causing problems for Green Card holders – people who are legal United States permanent residents. It’s difficult to overstate how awful this is, and how much such an action goes against our values as Americans. It could also end up being a great recruitment tool for the extremist groups that Trump claims he’s trying to prevent from broaching our borders (friendly reminder that none of the 9/11 hijackers came from any of these countries, and all acts of ‘Islamic Extremism’ in the US in recent years have been carried out by people who were born here. Not to mention that most acts of terror, like mass shootings, in the US are carried out by white men who identify as Christian). This is something you should definitely be pissed off about, but also should mobilize against. What can we do?

Call your Members of Congress (MoCs), show up to their offices, and show up to their public events.

Tell Republicans to put country before party and stand up for ‘traditional American values,’ like valuing immigrants and being a beacon of hope and freedom to people around the world. Recite the full poem from the base of the Statue of Liberty. Really drive home the idea that this is unAmerican.

Tell Democrats that it’s no longer safe to ‘see what Donald Trump does.’ He’s proven that we must take all of his campaign promises at face value. Tell them that unless they take a strong public stance against these actions and follow through with legislative action to stop this and other Trump actions/nominees, you will strongly consider voting for any candidate who may run against them in a primary.

Do this with a phone call, or better yet, if you can, show up to their office nearest you on Monday or Tuesday. Find an Indivisible Action Group in your area if you haven’t already, and work with them to protest this action.

Donate to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

They’re filing a constitutional challenge against the Executive Order, and generally do a lot of great work to protect the civil rights of Muslim Americans and foster understanding.